Proud to lead England in ‘huge game’ vs Slovenia: Harry Kane

Gareth Southgate's men are on the verge of securing their berth at next year's World Cup.

England manager Gareth Southgate confirmed that striker Harry Kane will be leading the Three Lions for their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Slovenia and the Tottenham Hotspur man took to Instagram to declare his pride at being awarded the captain’s armband.

After Wayne Rooney announced his international retirement in August, Kane has emerged as the leading contender to become the next permanent England captain.

The 24-year-old Spurs striker, who has won the Premier League Golden Boot for the last two seasons, made his full England debut in 2015 and has a total of 21 caps to his name. Kane’s goalscoring record for the Three Lions has been decent, with 10 goals coming in 21 matches at an average of just under 0.5 goals per game.

England are topping their qualifying group with 20 points from eight games while Slovakia are in second place with 15 points and third-placed Slovenia have 14 points.

Just two games are left and Gareth Southgate’s men are in pole position to top their group and secure automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup that is to be held in Russia.

Should they beat the Slovenians on Thursday night, top spot will be mathematically guaranteed and it will afford them the chance to experiment in their final qualifier against Lithuania on Sunday.